Merlin entered the living room with a spring in his step. "Hi Arthur, you okay? I can't smell burning, so I assume you haven't set fire to the house again." He beamed at his friend before stopping short.

Arthur was huddled in the chair in front of the TV, his eyes wide and face as white as a sheet. Merlin approached him cautiously, dropping his bag on the floor and sitting down next to him.

"Arthur, what happened?"

"Nothing," said Arthur quietly, attempting a smile and evidently trying to hide the slight tremor in his voice. "How was work?"

"Fine," said Merlin, eyeing him suspiciously. "Don't try and change the subject Arthur, what happened?"

"Nothing!" Arthur protested. "Don't question your king, Merlin." However his voice lacked conviction, and he clearly knew it.

Merlin sighed and shifted into a more comfortable position on the sofa, knocking against something solid in Arthur's fist as he did so. Looking down, he saw the remote clutched tightly in Arthur's hand, so tightly that his knuckles were white. Merlin noticed, with a feeling of trepidation, that his hand was trembling.

"Arthur, what did you watch on the television?" he asked quietly, reaching out and tugging the remote from Arthur's grasp.

"I didn't watch anything!" said Arthur at once.

Merlin pointed the remote at the television. "So, would you mind if I put what you were watching back on?" he asked casually.

A look of fear passed briefly over Arthur's face, however, he shrugged, trying to come across as unconcerned. "I don't care."

Merlin was about to press the button to turn it on, but Arthur promptly grabbed his wrist. "There's no point, it's finished anyway…"

"So you were watching something on the television?" said Merlin swiftly.

Arthur glared at him. "Oh, shut up. Stop trying to be clever, it doesn't suit you."

Merlin turned on the TV, ignoring Arthur's protests, and found himself watching the end of a horror film. He turned to look at Arthur, who was staring steadily in the other direction.

"Don't worry, Arthur," Merlin began gently. "Some horror films are quite scary-"

Arthur drew himself up. "Scary? Merlin, I'm not scared!"

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because you look pretty shaken to me."

Arthur grabbed the remote from him. "Go away and leave me to watch this!" he snapped. "I'll prove to you that I'm not scared."

"So, when you say go away," Merlin began carefully, "you basically mean that I should go away so you can pretend you're watching the rest of the film?"

Arthur glared at him, but seemed unable to think of a retort.

"It's okay, I'll leave," said Merlin quickly, sliding off the sofa. He had just spotted a vase sitting on a shelf within arm's length to Arthur, and definitely didn't fancy getting hit with a vase made out of glass.

"See you!" he said cheerfully over his shoulder to Arthur, who scowled at him. He left the room, fully intending to keep an eye on Arthur, who he knew was highly likely to panic while watching the film, if his state earlier was anything to go by.

Merlin stood in the kitchen for a couple of minutes before tentatively entering the living room, standing by the doorway so Arthur wouldn't spot him. In fact, where was Arthur?

Merlin's eyes scanned the room, but he couldn't see his friend anywhere. The film was still playing, although it would be finished soon, but Arthur was nowhere to be seen. The only thing left on the sofa was a large pile of cushions…

…with a leg sticking out from underneath them.

Merlin couldn't help but smile affectionately. "Arthur?"

The cushions jumped, some falling onto the floor, and the leg immediately disappeared from view, under the remaining cushions.

Merlin approached the cushions, now able to see Arthur's blond head sticking out from the top. "Arthur, would you like to watch something else?" he asked quietly.

"I'm just…" Arthur's voice was muffled. "I'm just…resting. I'm tired."

Merlin pulled the cushions off him, and smiled at his friend. "I know you didn't find the film very scary-"

"Not a bit!" said Arthur scornfully.

"However, why don't we watch a cartoon?" Merlin asked brightly.

Arthur sat up slowly. "What's a cartoon?"

"You'll like it," Merlin assured him with a laugh.

A/N: Hope you liked it :)